Mahindra Genio facelift to be “a lot more pleasing to the eye”

The Mahindra Genio will get a facelift in the coming weeks that the brand’s local spokesman says will make it “a lot more pleasing to the eye”.

Mahindra Australia marketing manager James Halliwell told CarAdvice the Indian car maker was preparing to launch an updated version of its low-cost, HiLux-rivalling ute, revealing an announcement about the refreshed model was expected in about eight weeks, ahead of its Australian introduction in the final quarter of this year.

While Halliwell said he was yet to see the final production version, he confirmed a number of exterior changes would give the 2016 Mahindra Genio a fresh look, while a “total revamp” for the interior would make it feel like “pretty well a whole new car”.

Halliwell said it was unclear at this stage if the 2016 update would bring upgrades to Genio’s drivetrain. Currently, the Genio teams an 88kW/280Nm 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel engine with a five-speed manual transmission.

Single- and dual-cab models are available with both 4×2 and 4×4 drivetrains.

Halliwell told us there was no news about an automatic transmission option for the updated Genio, and suggested it was probably unlikely as this stage.